BBHHS boys varsity basketball team aims high
by Dan Holland
Following four consecutive conference championships in a row, the Brecksville-Broadview Heights boys varsity basketball team tied for second place in the Suburban League National Division this season, posting a 9-5 conference record along with rival Stow-Munroe Falls.
“It was a great run,” said Head Coach Steve Mehalik, now in his 18th year of leading the program. “We had some close games that cost us a chance to five-peat. They’re a special group this year, so hats off to them.”
Hard work and teamwork paid off with another successful season, said Mehalik. “All of the guys work really hard; they’re really good defensively, and everyone buys into their role,” he explained. “We have guys who score, guys who rebound, guys who defend and guys coming off the bench with a lot of energy. Everyone plays a vital role, and that’s huge. When you can get everyone to buy into the program, you can go a lot farther.”
“It’s one of the best programs in the state of Ohio, and I have nothing to do with that – it was already a good program; when I came in,” said Mehalik. “There’s a little bit of pressure to not screw it up, and that’s a good thing. It keeps you sharp, and it makes you outwork everyone else.”
Beating a top-ranked team at a tournament in the Tampa, Florida, area in late December was a highlight of the season.
“We managed to beat a team that was the fourth-ranked team in the Tampa area; they had a pair of 6’10” guys, but we won that one,” said Mehalik. “And, any win in our conference this year has been a good win, because our conference has been pretty solid. There are a lot of great coaches and different things that you see; you can’t ever be caught sleeping in this conference.”
This year’s team was led on the court by senior Brady Ganley. He recently became the seventh player in school history to surpass 1,000 points during the team’s 54-32 second-round playoff win against Austintown Fitch. With the victory, Ganley tied Luke Skaljac for most career wins with 81. He was also named Suburban League National Conference Boys Basketball Athlete of the Month for January.
Seniors Luke Sokolowski and Carson Zabkar also played leading roles on the team this season, said Mehalik.
“Luke is a senior this year who is a very solid player as a shooter and rebounder and one of our best team defenders,” he said. “Carson plays his role well and guards the best player on the other teams, and he doesn’t care if he doesn’t score or not; he just wants to win. Those are two guys we’ve been rolling with a lot this year.”
The Bees will return a number of underclassmen next year, whom Mehalik expects to step up into leading roles.
“It’s different every single year; you don’t know what to expect until you start working with them a little bit in May, June and July and start to get it all set up,” said Mehalik, a 1991 BBHHS graduate. “We have two really good pieces coming back in Steven Skaljac and Ben Mehendale; they’ll both be all-conference players. We lost Rocco Dean, who would have been our point guard this year, when he tore his ACL last summer. But he’ll be coming back next year as a senior.”
“Ben can dominate a game without scoring, but he often adds scoring as well,” he continued. “He’s going to be truly special as a player. And, to have him and Steven Skaljac back for another year is exciting. It will be different but fun, and that’s what has kept me around for 18 years.”
In addition to instilling a dedicated work ethic, Mehalik also stresses having fun along the way.“We’re blessed to have great kids who work really hard all the time, and we never have any issues with grades or discipline,” said Mehalik. “They had a lot of fun with the tournament down in Florida, and we did an overnight in Columbus. So, we try to have a lot of fun with it, and I think they’re one of the best programs in Ohio.”
Photo caption: Brady Ganley’s 1,000 points this season helped lead the Bees to tie for second place in the Suburban League National Division. Photo by Dan Holland.